Sunday, June 08, 2008

Gentlemen, Start Your Rhetoric

Hillary Clinton was heaved back into the real world on Saturday at noon when she finally - mercifully - conceded that her historic but disastrous campaign was toast and jelly, and that Senator Barack Obama was indeed going to be the 2008 Democratic nominee for the office of president. Her "victory speech" on the night of the final Democratic primaries will no doubt be remembered as one of the more curious events in political history. It was one of those bizarre, Nixonian moments that makes the American electoral process such a weird joy to behold. There our gal was, in a fortified, underground bunker (I kid you not!) two stories below the sidewalks of merrie old Manhattan, in order to insure that none of her wildly cheering, glazed-eyed supporters would get the message on their cell phones that Barack had actually won. It truly was the funniest moment in what can only be described as a surreal political season. By the weekend her own exhausted and embarrassed campaign advisers were telling her that it was all over. One would only hope that they have enough sense to keep her away from sharp objects and window ledges.

Over a year ago, on February 23, 2007, I wrote on this site:
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"Will Barack Obama be the next president of the United States? It's hard to say. But one shouldn't be foolish enough to dismiss his chances outright. We live in desperate and extraordinary times and the American people, if only out of sheer desperation, might very well turn towards an extraordinary candidate. That very fact is enough to put the good Senator over the top. We can only hope. Talk about audacity!"

At the time it was my belief that he had "one hell of an uphill battle ahead of him". After he won the Iowa caucus in January, I wrote,

"You know, I was just thinking: this son-of-a-bitch just might be able to pull this thing off! Wow!"

Back in January, a Barack Obama victory in November seemed to be nothing short of a potential miracle. That is no longer the case. Far from it. From the vantage point of Sunday morning, June 8, 2008, his success should only seem inevitable. But Obama is not a sure thing. As a matter of fact, at the present time, the polls have he and McCain in a dead heat. How can this be so? Times are so bad; John McCain is such a terrible candidate; Obama is such an extraordinary nominee. The only thing his possible defeat will prove is that the American people are nothing more than a nation of incurable yahoos, racists and fools. If he is defeated on November 4, that will be the only plausible, rational explanation.

That was not meant to imply that everyone who casts their vote against the Senator from Illinois is a bigot; certainly that is not the case. There are good and decent people out there who have honest, philosophical disagreements with the Democratic party that have nothing to do with race. I am merely attempting to point out the undeniable truth that the GOP's assault on our government in the last thirty years has done such harm to this once-great nation, a Democratic landslide on Election Day should be a foregone conclusion. We're talkin' a 1936 style victory here, folks. That was the year when Franklin Delano Roosevelt won every state in the union with the lame exception of Maine and Vermont. Or 1972, when Dick Nixon trounced George McGovern everywhere but Massachusetts and the District of Columbia (Goodness gracious! Weeda Peeple really screwed up that year, didn't we?)

The fact that a Democratic victory in the autumn is not beyond doubt at this point in time, given the total corruption and mismanagement of the Republican party since the 1994 "Gingrich Revolution", is kind of disturbing when you think about it. Really, there seems to be no other choice that a nation of thoughtful, informed voters could make. John McCain has said (among other equally stupid things) that we could be bogged down in Iraq for another one-hundred years. How on earth is it that this guy is neck and neck my man, Barack? What gives here? Just look at the kind of campaign Obama has run! One thing that has to be admitted about Barack Obama is that he is organized. Before he got involved with Illinois politics, he made his reputation in Chicago as a community organizer - and a damned good one at that. His campaign thus far has been run like a Swiss watch. He surrounds himself with thoughtful, blunt advisers; not sycophantic "yes" men like Hillary Clinton and a certain, half-witted cowboy wannabe from Crawford, Texas whom we all know and loathe.

The only reason Obama is not a sure bet to win this thing is because he is an African American. That very fact speaks volumes as to what kind of people we are. The only way we will be able to avoid the shame of race playing a role in Barack's defeat (God forbid that should happen) will be if the Republicans nominate some pathetic, reactionary Uncle Tom to run as second on the ticket. Don't dismiss that as a possibility.

Candidate Obama's organization, the men and women he has chosen to surround himself with and run his campaign, are nothing if not impressive. These are the kind of people you want running the executive branch of your government. So many times in our history we have settled for less or, as in the case of 2000 and 2004, much less. We can't afford that "luxury" (if that's what you want to call it) again.

At no other time since 1932 has the need to go in a radically new direction been as obvious as it is in this year. If we foolishly reject the Democratic candidate we will deserve everything that happens to us. So desperate is the Bush Mob to forestall the inevitable, catastrophic economic collapse that is months if not weeks away, they have resorted to sending checks in the amount of several hundred dollars to every taxpayer in the United States. Their intention is to keep the economy barely sustained just long enough to be able to get out of town while the getting is good and blame the coming, unavoidable meltdown on the next administration - an administration they have some reason (although not every reason) to believe will be a Democratic one. What they are in the process of doing may very well serve as a temporary fix, but it will eventually only further deplete our already decimated national treasure. Seriously, has it dawned on you yet how utterly contemptible these people are? I was just wondering.
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There is reason for hope. The inhabitants of this troubled land are starting to pay attention to what is happening to them and they are beginning to understand why it is happening. Recent polling has concluded that eighty percent of the public believes that America is headed in the wrong direction (Yes, dear and gentle reader, a full twenty percent of your fellow citizens are so mind-twistingly stupid, they actually believe that we're headed in the right direction). FOX Noise's ratings are starting to fall. Last week, more people tuned into Keith Olbermann than watched Bill O'Riley. Recently, three Democrats were able to win in special, off-year elections in regions that were previously thought to be Republican strongholds. It has been many weeks since I have heard the name "Brittany Spears" even mentioned in the electronic media. So there is definitely room for optimism here.

Another thing that people are starting to wake up to is what a hideous mistake it was to sign onto the so-called "Reagan Revolution" a generation ago. On January 20, 1981, a feeble-minded, failed "B" movie actor by the name of Ronald Wilson Reagan stood on a podium in front of the Capitol Building in Washington DC, and told a nation of likewise feeble-minded Americans that government wasn't the answer to their problems, government was their problem. Remember this was at a point in our history when the population of this country was fast approaching two-hundred and fifty million human beings. If there is one thing that a quarter of a billion men and women need, it is to be governed - not to be dictated to, mind you - but governance. There is a decided difference. Don't let the kooks and criminals on the far right try to make you believe otherwise.

For almost thirty years, we have passively allowed these clowns to chip away at the very fabric of the social structures that brought the middle class into existence when President Roosevelt ushered in the New Deal era seventy-five years ago. We have seen where the insane philosophy of these hard-line extremists has taken us. What they have been trying to do is bring America back to the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a period Mark Twain called "The Gilded Age" when the the wealthy controlled even more of this nation's treasure than they do now. If you would like an idea of what life was like for regular working men and women in the first decade of the twentieth century, please read the book, "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair. Written over a century ago in 1905, it is the heart breaking story of workers in the Chicago meat packing plants of that day who were brutally exploited by criminally low wages and then tossed aside like garbage when their injuries on the job left them without any benefits or compensation to sustain them. When Mr. Sinclair died on November 25, 1968 at the age of ninety, his most famous book was all-but-forgotten. It is quite telling that recent years have seen it's resurgence.

Is this class warfare that I am waging here? As the extremely rich Warren Buffett once observed, "If this is class warfare, my class is obviously winning". You're damned right this is class warfare, pardner! As one of the many bumper stickers on the back of my van says: "TURN LEFT AT NEXT ELECTION".

This might seem to you to be an alarmist statement but it really is not: the very future of the United States depends on Barack Obama winning this election. Not only that, we should see to it that George W. Bush is remembered as the last Republican president in history. That party, once known as "the party of Abraham Lincoln", has sold out the American people to the highest corporate bidder. Once the party of Theodore Roosevelt, the GOP has looted and raped the American economy to such an astounding and incomprehensible degree, that our debt is now being managed by China. China!!! That party, which was founded in 1856 with the abolition of human bondage as it's abiding purpose, has enslaved the poor and middle classes in order to benefit a class of people who already have more money than they know what to do with. That party, which has cynically distorted the teachings of our Lord and Savior (okay - MY Lord and Savior) in order to perpetuate their reckless destruction of our American heritage, has curtly dismissed the admonition of Jesus of Nazareth that we care for the poor, clothe the naked and feed the hungry:

"I tell you the truth. Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me."
Matthew 25:40
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That party must never be allowed to govern this country again.
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Pray for peace.
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Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
tomdegan@frontiernet.net

SUGGESTED READING:
The Sermon on the Mount

12 Comments:

At 12:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good "rant" Tom,
I also hope that Barack is our next president. The two speeches on Tuesday night spoke volumes.
McCain spoke to the shuffle board crowd at a retirement home. Barack spoke to a huge, HUGE audience in St Paul and electrified all.
Now, my concern.
I've been following Israel's "sabber rattling" towards Iran. They intend to launch a preemptive strike if they believe Iran is going forward with their nuclear program. If Israel launches this action, as their ally, the USA will defend them. Perhaps the "crisis" will give reason for Bushco to suspend the elections and initiate a "national emergency". I would put nothing past the tactics of these despicable ratfucks.
Recently, nuclear weapons were flown (accidentally) from Minot to LA on Cheney's orders. Do you think this might be a "dress rehearsal"? Two top brass AF were let go for the "blunder".
We'll see how this shakes out. I hope the refugs don't try to pull this off. It will bring us to the streets.
W

 
At 12:13 PM, Blogger dick wagner said...

never underestimate the ignorance of the american people. i've said it a hundred times and i've been proven right each time. blame our inate fear of change, even if we profess to want change...a fact the republicans understand and viciously exploit over and over again. blame the sick passive lives we americans lead...somehow the suffering will just go away. blame the once proud media for their support of government lies and corruption under the illusion of free speech. blame ourselves ultimately for for losing the spirit of honesty and integrety we were taught as children. we re-elected nixon, we re-elected bush, we let regan pillage our social programs and skate on by with ollie north and other cronies getting a wet noodle slap on the wrist. john mccain slipped on through the savings and loans scandle with neil bush as his partner in crime walking away a much richer man and a proud poppy bush smiling in the wings. mccain is a dangerous and dishonest man who has no real qualifications to be the leader of the free world. look at his record in depth and you will understand my reasoning. i don't mean to be so long winded but tom...i agree with you once again. keep the fight for freedom and peace alive.

dick wagner
scottsdale, az.

 
At 12:43 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

As a follow up to my first post, here's the authorization for "bunker busters" sale:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4493443.stm

I predict that Israel will initiate hostilities, the USA will rush to their defense, and martial law will be declared prior to the Nov elections.
I sure hope I'm wrong, but it looks like preparations are being made.
W

 
At 1:08 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tom, unfortunately, you refuse to wake up to the reality. I think Billy Bob Joe, a garbage truck driver is much more aware to what's going on than you are. You should watch "the sludge report" , his latest video "israel remember" is very good one to stop you dreaming.

 
At 1:35 PM, Blogger Tom Degan said...

Great thoughts, Dick. That's what people just don't understand about McCain and, once again, you have hit the nail right on the head.

You also make a good point, W. I wouldn't put it past this hideous little bastard to suspend the Constitution. Something that dispicable would probably seem anti-climactic to the Bush Mob, given all of the felonies they have committed. Time will tel....

All the ebst,
Tom Degan

 
At 6:01 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Tom,

Congratulations on the third birthday of The Rant. It was June 2nd, right? Each year of your rants is better than the one before.

May you and all of us have cause to hope and celebrate in the year to come. Nice work!

fearless flower

 
At 8:50 PM, Blogger stoney13 said...

Tom,

The only way McBush will make it to the White House is through the back door to visit President Obama!

I don't see how the hell McBush expects to win, and I don't know what the fuck these polls are based on!

I live in the most conservative county IN NORTH CAROLINA!!!!! Two years ago we gave "Chainsaw Carlie" Taylor his walking papers, and this year it will be "Liddy" Dole! If Democrats can win here, they can win anywhere!!

It's June, and I haven't seen a McCain sticker anywhere! Not a lawn sign, not anything! That's insane! There's Obama stickers everywhere, and more than a few "Clintons" but I don't even know what a McCain sticker looks like!

You'll get to see George Bush's grand moment of defeat, and disgrace, Tom, and I'll tell you how it's going to go down!

Bush is betting on Israel attacking Iran. The problem is, Iran has signed a "Mutual defense agreement" with China, and Russia!

Haven't heard that little piece of news yet? Well guess what! Join the club! It happened! The American Press has been told that there's no story there, and not to sweat it! The agreement hasn't even been given a name yet! But it's existed for over two years!

Bush's handlers aren't going to let Bush run that far afield, and neither are "The Powers That Be" pulling strings from DEEP cover!

If Bush were to attack Iran, The United States Army would remove him as President! AND THEY CAN DO IT!!!!! It goes back to the good old Uniform Code of Military Justice, and The President's commission as "Commander in Chief" of The United States Military! All that would be required is to convene a military tribunal under the UCMJ! If this tribunal finds Bush "unfit for command" THEN HE'S OUT!!! This WILL happen if he tries to invade Iran!

We don't have the resources in either men, ammunition, or equipment to attack Iran! It doesn't matter WHO wants to do it, it ain't gonna happen!

As long as ANYBODY up there, has one grain of sense, then it CAN'T happen! It would be the death of this country, and the entire global economy! The big boys know it!

The "Big Boys" know that they let the oil companies get too fat,too! And now they don't want to tighten up the belt. Therefore, a Democratic President is required to lean them down a bit!

After the horrific recession hits, (and it will!), They'll blame it all on the Democrats! All the televangelists will start ranting that "God is angry at us"!

It works to get the populace worked up against a dreaded, "liberal", so next election all the sheople walk meekly back into the pen and vote against their own best interests!

Lured away by divisive, rhetorical issues that do nothing but tear people apart, destroying any chance of consensus!

The "Big Boys" don't want us to get together on shit! THAT"S the kind of thing that leads to angry people making long trips with garden tools! That's why there will ALWAYS be one or two divisive issues on the books! Be it drugs, abortion, gay marriage, or gun control! It's all a ruse to get people on the RIGHT side of the issues!

In the meantime, heavily armed paramilitary police agencies are kicking down doors, and shooting people in their own homes because there "might" be some drugs there! Just like they've been doing for the last thirty years! So tell me something people! Just what the fuck are we losing?

 
At 9:16 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tom,

Your rant's are stirring up the rant in me more and more often. I guess you have to live in the heartland in order to understand the thinking of those that support McCain. I often feel like a freak living in a Stepford society where reason is disdained. This is where your "Christian" volunteer army of upstanding patriotic population lives. Where guns are holy and poor single mothers are looked upon as trailor trash. Where hateful judgeement of others is preached in the church. I'm just grateful that Fox is loosing their audience. This is a good sign that more and more of these fools are waking up. I hope enough do by November. A lot of it will depend on what additional fodder the Repugs can dig up and twist on Obama to push to these people who swallow emotional hooks with ease. I'm looking forward to the debates where I think Obama will show McFuddyDuddy as the addel brained bafoon that he is.

What completely amazes me is how any Republican can continue to believe the "less government" lie of this party. From my view, we have a shitload more government now than we did eight years ago. We've only cut back on funding education, environment, and social service funding. What government was eliminated exactly?

Not only did we gain a Homeland Security, we now have an entire host of ghost divisions such as the Department of Haliburton, Dynecorp, KBR, and countless others eating away at our tax dollars.

Then there's all the cadillac technology our government invests in from local to federal levels. National ID's, human genome project, super databases, and secret surveillance technologies. State of the art and multi-million dollar investments to track us, collect our email, and record our phone conversations. How much do you think just the intercept rooms put into AT&T cost? Yet, I've still to hear one word about how any of these sophisticated spying programs has averted disaster for us.

If I can't afford to upgrade my shitty computer which I use for earning a living, I sure as hell can't afford to pay my share of our governments technology expenses! Why does this administration think it should have a technology budget that outpaces that of a Fortune 50 company? Is that what they think less government is?

I sure hope we find a cure for this cancer cause it's making me sick.

Wendy

 
At 10:25 AM, Blogger charles moore said...

Hi Tom,
A good rant and I am with you all the way here. But as a note to you and W, I also for a long time had a great fear that in the final days of his "presidency" that the little Jugeared jackass would try to pull something, suspend the Constitution, declare martial law abd remain in power. Two things that have changed my thinking a bit is that first, we don't have the man power to back up a military takeover in this country; they are all in Iraq or Afghanstan and certainly none of the Bush gang can shoot straight (witness Cheney's hunting trip). Secondly, I increasingly believe that Bush is just too damned stupid and lazy to want to try to stay in office. His hope is to go back to Tex-ass and chop brush and my hope is that he will be sent to prison where he can make automobile tags.

 
At 11:03 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

don't count diebolt out this fall. They are just waiting to do their dirty work

 
At 11:56 PM, Blogger Prairie Waif said...

Thursday 10:33 CDT 2008 June 12

habeas corpus (/'heɪbiəs 'kɔɹpəs/) is the name of a legal action or writ by means of which detainees can seek relief from unlawful imprisonment.

This thinly was returned by the US Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision. If ANYBODY has ANY doubts about why ALL DEMOCRATS need to fund, support and promote and defend the Democratic Presidential Candidate: Barack Obama, this *is* it.

THE SUPREME COURT CANNOT BE LEFT IN REPUBLICAN HANDS. NEVER.

The thought of anyone voting for a Republican, or not voting or voting third party, should, in light of the Supreme Court's *slim* upholding of Constitutional Rights, be dead and relegated to the "WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?!" closet of shame.

It ISN'T about Roe v Wade. IT IS ABOUT MAINTAINING A DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC TITLED: THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

The protection of the Supreme Court gets some "thin veil" of recognition of its importance related, almost always, to Roe v Wade. GET OVER THAT! It is about the preservation of a country I LOVE.

If today's headlines on the return of habeus corpus was passed over to get to the comics faster, *shaking my head*. . .

Tom, you took a lot of unfair hits on this rant, however, IT IS PERFECT WHEN ADDRESSING THE PRESSING NEEDS OF THE COUNTRY.

I love the country I grew-up in, and I miss it. I would LOVE to come home, but this current corruption of ideology of *LIFE VALUE* versus *CORPORATE PROFIT*, leaves me safely sitting, with medical coverage and safety of home and person, in Brandon, Manitoba CANADA.

Tom You give as suggested reading: The Sermon on the Mount. I think we need an addendum. It is short so I will just put it here so no one has to search for their Gideon's New Testament.

Romans 5:3-5
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us--they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of hope. Such hope as endures.

MJ
Waif

 
At 8:51 AM, Blogger Tom Degan said...

Great closing quote, MJ. What has always amazed/amused/horrified me, is the utter obliviousness of the far right to the true meaning of the teachings of Jesus Christ. The fact that these thieves and fools (most of them anyway) are self-described "Christians" is an insult to the Prince of Peace - and, I believe, a blasphemy.

All the best,
Tom Degan

 

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